Prison - a cruel and unusual punishment for a woman

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Jailing mothers for trivial offences is harsh on them and their children. But the Government has lost its nerve on reform

She - let's call her Jean - has been out for some years now. She's rehabilitated, has a flat, a mortgage, a job and a partner. I was one of the friends who supported her through a bleak and discouraging time in a woman's prison.

Prison staff and governors were supportive too, for many of them know how hard prison is for women. They told me as much, and so did Jean.

Yet she is one of the minority who manage to stay out. Reoffending rates have been soaring - 64 per cent of those released in 2004 were reconvicted